‘Don’t believe Castille a single word’ on hunting, BirdLife tells EU

Spring hunting season open for Quail only, vulnerable Turtle Dove still being illegally hunted

Although the spring hunting season has only been opened for Quail, the vulnerable Turtle Dove is still being illegally hunted, BirdLife Malta said on Thursday.

Hunters were mostly out to shoot down Turtle Dove, and not Quail, the NGO said in a media conference in front of the Office of the Prime Minister.

BirdLife presented a dead turtle dove recovered from Delimara, an area it called “a notorious illegal hunting spot”.

A prohibitory injunction filed by the NGO against spring hunting for the vulnerable species was provisionally upheld and will be subject to a court hearing on Friday.

BirdLife Malta President Darryl Grima said the NGO told EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius not to believe the Maltese government “a single word” on hunting.

Last week, The Shift published a letter from Commissioner Sinkevičius sent in May 2022 that lambasted Minister Clint Camilleri for continually ignoring EU recommendations.

Malta’s continued derogation from the EU ban on spring hunting is the subject of an infringement notice by the European Commission.

The European Turtle Dove has been listed as a vulnerable species since 2015.